"A" Is for Alibi: Nikki Fife, convicted of murdering her husband Laurence, is out on parole after eight years of prison. Now, she hires Kinsey Millhone to find out who really killed Laurence.
"B" Is for Burglar: Elaine Boldt is missing, and her sister wants Kinsey Millhone to find her. It seems to be a routine job - until Kinsey is ordered to drop the investigation.
"C" Is for Corpse: Kinsey Millhone is recruited to help Bobby Callahan, a young man struggling back to life after his Porsche was forced to take a near-fatal nose dive over the edge of a canyon.

5 out of 5 stars

Love the book, as well as Narrarator

By
Kindle Customer
on
05-09-14

Kinsey and Me

Stories

By:
Sue Grafton

Narrated by:
Judy Kaye

Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
164

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
142

Story

4 out of 5 stars
141

In 1982, Sue Grafton introduced us to Kinsey Millhone. Thirty years later, Kinsey is an established international icon and Sue, a number-one best-selling author. To mark this anniversary year, Sue has given us stories that reveal Kinsey’s origins and Sue’s past.
Kinsey and Me has two parts: The nine Kinsey stories (1986-93), each a gem of detection; and the And Me stories, written in the decade after Grafton's mother died. Together, they show just how much of Kinsey is a distillation of her creator’s past.

3 out of 5 stars

How did Grafton create Kinsey?

By
Jean
on
01-22-13

One for the Money

A Stephanie Plum Novel, Book 1

By:
Janet Evanovich

Narrated by:
C. J. Critt

Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
4,739

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
4,175

Story

4 out of 5 stars
4,171

You’ve lost your job as a department store lingerie buyer, your car’s been repossessed, and most of your furniture and small appliances have been sold off to pay last month’s rent. Now the rent is due again. And you live in New Jersey. What do you do? If you’re Stephanie Plum, you become a bounty hunter. But not just a nickel-and-dime bounty hunter; you go after the big money. That means a cop gone bad. And not just any cop. She goes after Joe Morelli, a disgraced former vice cop who is also the man that took her virginity....

4 out of 5 stars

I love reading Janet Evanovich because her....

By
Wayne
on
04-06-16

Indemnity Only

By:
Sara Paretsky

Narrated by:
Susan Ericksen

Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
289

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
263

Story

4 out of 5 stars
265

In this gripping adventure - the first V.I. Warshawski mystery - America’s top private eye is tossed into a dangerous adventure when a seemingly straightforward assignment becomes complicated and deadly. Hired by a man who calls himself John Thayer, V.I.’s assignment is to find Thayer’s son Peter’s missing girlfriend. But when V.I. finds young Peter’s dead body instead, her client disappears.

5 out of 5 stars

Back to the Beginning

By
Geoffrey Kragen
on
11-22-11

1st to Die: Women's Murder Club, Book 1

Booktrack Edition

By:
James Patterson

Narrated by:
Suzanne Toren

Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
15

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
13

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
13

Imagine a killer who thinks, What is the worst thing anyone has ever done? - and then goes far beyond it. Now imagine four women - a police detective, an assistant DA, a reporter, and a medical examiner - who join forces as they sidestep their bosses to track down criminals. Known as the Women's Murder Club, they are pursuing a murderer whose twisted imagination has stunned an entire city. Their chief suspect is a socially prominent writer, but the men in charge won't touch him. On the trail of the most terrifying and unexpected killer ever, they discover a shocking surprise.

5 out of 5 stars

1st To Die - Im Hooked!

By
Anonymous User
on
08-07-18

The Ritual Bath

The First Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

By:
Faye Kellerman

Narrated by:
Mitchell Greenberg

Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
1,096

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
692

Story

4 out of 5 stars
690

Detective Peter Decker of the LAPD is stunned when he gets the report. Someone has shattered the sanctuary of a remote yeshiva community in the California hills with an unimaginable crime. One of the women was brutally raped as she returned from the mikvah, the bathhouse where the cleansing ritual is performed.

4 out of 5 stars

Good Read

By
Eva Gannon
on
08-21-08

Sue Grafton ABC Gift Collection

"A" Is for Alibi, "B" Is for Burglar, "C" Is for Corpse

By:
Sue Grafton

Narrated by:
Judy Kaye

Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins

Abridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
492

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
433

Story

4 out of 5 stars
434

"A" Is for Alibi: Nikki Fife, convicted of murdering her husband Laurence, is out on parole after eight years of prison. Now, she hires Kinsey Millhone to find out who really killed Laurence.
"B" Is for Burglar: Elaine Boldt is missing, and her sister wants Kinsey Millhone to find her. It seems to be a routine job - until Kinsey is ordered to drop the investigation.
"C" Is for Corpse: Kinsey Millhone is recruited to help Bobby Callahan, a young man struggling back to life after his Porsche was forced to take a near-fatal nose dive over the edge of a canyon.

5 out of 5 stars

Love the book, as well as Narrarator

By
Kindle Customer
on
05-09-14

Kinsey and Me

Stories

By:
Sue Grafton

Narrated by:
Judy Kaye

Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
164

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
142

Story

4 out of 5 stars
141

In 1982, Sue Grafton introduced us to Kinsey Millhone. Thirty years later, Kinsey is an established international icon and Sue, a number-one best-selling author. To mark this anniversary year, Sue has given us stories that reveal Kinsey’s origins and Sue’s past.
Kinsey and Me has two parts: The nine Kinsey stories (1986-93), each a gem of detection; and the And Me stories, written in the decade after Grafton's mother died. Together, they show just how much of Kinsey is a distillation of her creator’s past.

3 out of 5 stars

How did Grafton create Kinsey?

By
Jean
on
01-22-13

One for the Money

A Stephanie Plum Novel, Book 1

By:
Janet Evanovich

Narrated by:
C. J. Critt

Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
4,739

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
4,175

Story

4 out of 5 stars
4,171

You’ve lost your job as a department store lingerie buyer, your car’s been repossessed, and most of your furniture and small appliances have been sold off to pay last month’s rent. Now the rent is due again. And you live in New Jersey. What do you do? If you’re Stephanie Plum, you become a bounty hunter. But not just a nickel-and-dime bounty hunter; you go after the big money. That means a cop gone bad. And not just any cop. She goes after Joe Morelli, a disgraced former vice cop who is also the man that took her virginity....

4 out of 5 stars

I love reading Janet Evanovich because her....

By
Wayne
on
04-06-16

Indemnity Only

By:
Sara Paretsky

Narrated by:
Susan Ericksen

Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
289

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
263

Story

4 out of 5 stars
265

In this gripping adventure - the first V.I. Warshawski mystery - America’s top private eye is tossed into a dangerous adventure when a seemingly straightforward assignment becomes complicated and deadly. Hired by a man who calls himself John Thayer, V.I.’s assignment is to find Thayer’s son Peter’s missing girlfriend. But when V.I. finds young Peter’s dead body instead, her client disappears.

5 out of 5 stars

Back to the Beginning

By
Geoffrey Kragen
on
11-22-11

1st to Die: Women's Murder Club, Book 1

Booktrack Edition

By:
James Patterson

Narrated by:
Suzanne Toren

Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
15

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
13

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
13

Imagine a killer who thinks, What is the worst thing anyone has ever done? - and then goes far beyond it. Now imagine four women - a police detective, an assistant DA, a reporter, and a medical examiner - who join forces as they sidestep their bosses to track down criminals. Known as the Women's Murder Club, they are pursuing a murderer whose twisted imagination has stunned an entire city. Their chief suspect is a socially prominent writer, but the men in charge won't touch him. On the trail of the most terrifying and unexpected killer ever, they discover a shocking surprise.

5 out of 5 stars

1st To Die - Im Hooked!

By
Anonymous User
on
08-07-18

The Ritual Bath

The First Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

By:
Faye Kellerman

Narrated by:
Mitchell Greenberg

Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
1,096

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
692

Story

4 out of 5 stars
690

Detective Peter Decker of the LAPD is stunned when he gets the report. Someone has shattered the sanctuary of a remote yeshiva community in the California hills with an unimaginable crime. One of the women was brutally raped as she returned from the mikvah, the bathhouse where the cleansing ritual is performed.

4 out of 5 stars

Good Read

By
Eva Gannon
on
08-21-08

Publisher's Summary

When Laurence Fife was murdered, few mourned his passing. Plenty of people had reason to want him dead. But the police thought his wife Nikki , with motive, access and opportunity, was the #1 suspect. The jury thought so too.

Eight years later and out on parole, Nikki hires Kinsey Millhone, a gutsy P.I., to find the real killer. The trail is cold, but Kinsey finds a lead that brings her face-to-face with the murderer!

This is the first in the popular series featuring California investigator Kinsey Millhone. She's 32, twice divorced, no kids, an ex-cop who likes her work...and who works strictly alone!

Don't miss the other titles in the
Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mystery Series.

Story

Poorly Narrated

The narrator is no Judy Kaye. I am going to make my way thru the alphabet series on Audible as I already have in print, so this is my starting point, though I have already listened to other books in the series. This book is instructive because it shows how subtle things can trash a reading. Much of the dialog is very wooden and doesn't flow the way a real conversation does. This is very distracting and makes it difficult to focus on the plot. I love Grafton, which is really the only thing that keeps me going.

Vintage Kinsey. Literally.

The first in the series -- obviously -- and arguably just as good as Grafton's last books, which is the unique thing about Sue Grafton. Her books -- and her character -- deal with more complex topics as they go along, they get longer, we learn more about Kinsey's background, but in terms of providing a thoroughly satisfying mystery, the first is as good as the last.

This one wasn't read by Judy Kaye, which marks one difference -- Kaye has become, at least in my mind, the voice of Kinsey Millhone. But Peiffer does a fine job. No complaints.

A is for Alibi also kicks off one of Kinsey's more unpleasant characteristics -- as least for me: her dislike of dogs and animals in general, but more specifically dogs. That issue gets modified a bit as the books proceed and somewhere in the alphabet Kinsey finds herself getting attached to a cat. But there were many times in this book I found myself cringing at the Kinsey's dislike for - and mistreatment of, when she gets the chance -- animals. I guess it fits her tough-girl character, but I, for one, would appreciate her working out her angst on humans, not animals.

But all in all, a good listen. Having first read this book a couple of years after it came out in 1982, then again a decade later, then listened to it for the first time in 2011 and again just now, 2015, I have few doubts that sooner or later I'll listen to it again. The problem is, there just aren't enough Kinsey books available -- and good grief! What will we do after "Z is for ???" is published.

Easy Escapist Mystery

No heavy lifting here for a reader. Just an engaging, brief-ish mystery that serves as an able introduction to the then-new PI. The only "problem" listening to this, and many future Grafton mysteries, is that the author introduces many characters and does not provide the "cues" other authors do to help readers keep them straight.

The weakest aspect of this audiobook is the narrator who mispronounces several reasonably common words (e.g., covert). This has an unfortunately jarring effect on the narrative.

Comparing narrators

Sue Grafton's hero, Kinsey Millhone, is wonderfully presented, as are all her characters. There is a pervading sense of fun mingled with human compassion throughout. Kinsey's qualities of irony and self deprecation are dynamically conveyed through delightful similes and asides.

Grafton's titles work through the alphabet, and have now reached U. Unfortunately Audible has only released unabridged versions of 6 of this series. But Grafton is a writer to be savored and enjoyed, not edited.

And talking of enjoying, the reading of Grafton's books illustrates what all Audible members know: that the narration has a strong impact. In the Audible unabridged selection, Grafton's books are narrated by Judy Kaye and Mary Peiffer. For me, Peiffer effortlessly draws out the colour, fun and sense of ease and enjoyment Grafton exudes, while Kaye, although a very professional reader, bypasses these important qualities

snore

It took a while for the book to hold my attention. It bored me and I looked forward to the ending more to be done with it than to find out what happened. The characters were skin deep at best and not really believable. Aside from the story line, part of the problem was the narrator. She is awful!!!!

No More for Me

I usually look so forward to my long drives and the Audible books that I get to listen to along the way. This book was chosen by my book club so I must finish it, otherwise I would not. I dread listening to it and cannot wait to be finished with it. The plot is boring. I am not at all interested in finding out "who dunnit." Even worse than the book itself is the narrator. Her male voices sound ridiculous and some of the female voices sound like a female trying to sound male - very off-putting. At times, she has lengthy pauses at very odd places in the story. At other times, she ends a sentence or a chapter in a way that makes the listener think that she has not read the end of the sentence. I will avoid this reader and this author in the future.

Painful

This was my first and my last Sue Grafton novel. Her writing was amateurish and her characters 2 dimensional and stupid. The plot was painfully predictable. Her main character never really told the story, but outlined steps and frequently talked about herself in the 3rd person rather than the 1st person (the story was being told, or attempting to be told in 1st person voice). I would characterize this book as a dime store novel. Do not waste your time with this book, and if this book is typical of her writing, I would avoid the author as well. It would take me far too long to describe how awful this book was with all of its cliche's, plot holes, and anti-climatic events. I was thrilled when the book was done. I guess my first clue should have been that the abridged version was taken down to 2 ish hours where the original was around 8. Any book that can shrink that much doesn't have much in it.